Finance teams spend hours reconciling spreadsheets, aggregating data, and creating monthly reports. This process delays insight and limits a CFO’s ability to be truly strategic. Even with business software in place, many financial planning and analysis tasks still involve repetitive manual work. These delays reduce a CFO’s ability to act quickly on insights that shape company performance.
Zaki Gabe-Wilkinson, co-founder and CEO of Gekko AI, believes finance needs a more efficient approach. “Finance teams are still performing manual workflows with legacy tools,” he explains. “AI is a chance to rebuild how finance works at a foundational level.”
Gekko AI introduces a product that functions as an AI analyst for CFOs. It automates data-gathering and reporting processes to reduce overhead and provide faster insights. The aim is to help financial leaders shift from reactive reporting to active, real-time strategic partners.
Embedded AI Agents Replace Manual Workflows
Gekko’s AI-powered agent connects to existing systems like ERP, CRM, and HR software. Rather than requiring a separate dashboard, it integrates directly into the organization’s infrastructure. It uses real-time business data to produce structured reports with context-rich commentary.
One of its key functions is automating variance analysis. The agent pulls data from across departments—sales, operations, and human resources—and identifies performance changes and their reasons behind them. This eliminates reliance on multi-team manual interpretation. Once teams implement the agent, it follows a schedule, collects and interprets data, and generates reports meeting internal, executive, and board-level needs.
Product Refined Through Build Partnerships
Gekko developed its product in partnership with about 20 venture-backed start-ups. These firms provided feedback that helped shape the platform’s design and real-world functionality.
“Every workflow we automate began as a real problem shared by a finance team,” Gabe-Wilkinson says. “We have built Gekko in the field, with direct user input.”
Customers have achieved measurable results. One firm recovered more than 40 hours a month through automated reporting. This aligns with broader industry findings; for instance, a manufacturing company reported a 50 percent reduction in report generation time and a 90 percent decrease in errors after automating data aggregation processes. Others now generate executive-ready reports internally, increasing efficiency and reducing dependence on third-party consultants.
Team Brings Finance and AI Expertise Together
Gekko’s leadership combines financial operations experience with advanced engineering knowledge. Gabe-Wilkinson, a First-Class Honours graduate from the London School of Economics, previously worked at Citi, Morgan Stanley, and Multiverse, where he was an early member of the Finance function. This experience shaped his understanding of how automation can improve day-to-day financial workflows.
The engineering team includes researchers from Oxford and Cambridge with language models and enterprise infrastructure expertise. Their work ensures the system functions efficiently and meets the data integrity standards that the finance departments require.
“We are building a CFO-grade analyst to handle financial complexity,” Gabe-Wilkinson says.
Scalable Implementation for High-Growth Environments
Companies can start with a single use case, such as month-end reporting, and expand incrementally. This strategy avoids long implementation cycles and helps teams see immediate results. For example, teams can begin with reporting and later add forecasting without restructuring existing tools.
Gekko is taking on both established financial systems and newer platforms like Aleph, Pigment, and Runway. While those focus on modeling and visualization, Gekko focuses on execution—automating the process of data analysis, report creation, and insight delivery.
Its built-in support for multi-entity reporting and role-based access suits fast-scaling businesses with multiple operating units. These features support efficient management across distributed organizations.
Gekko’s Roadmap Expands the CFO Toolset
Gekko is actively adding forecasting, pricing strategy, and scenario modeling features. The company is also developing integrations for tax and compliance tools to give teams a complete finance automation solution on one platform.
“CFOs have limited access to automation compared to other functions,” Gabe-Wilkinson says. “We are building tools that increase efficiency and elevate financial leadership.”
With meaningful Revenue traction, Gekko continues to grow rapidly. Rather than replacing finance professionals, the platform enhances their capabilities by streamlining routine work and surfacing timely insights.
Gekko helps finance teams automate reporting processes, freeing time for strategic planning and leadership. Industry analysts project the global market for AI in finance will exceed $64 billion by 2030, reflecting rising demand for automation in financial operations. Gekko aims to equip financial professionals with tools that reduce friction and support faster, more confident decision-making.
Photo Courtesy of Zaki Gabe-Wilkinson
